Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff meet in Miami Open final

Sabalenka seeks tennis’s ‘Sunshine Double’, while Florida’s own Gauff has reached the final for the first time.Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff are back on a big stage in the final of the Miami Open as their growing rivalry heats up.Gauff, the South Floridian who beat Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open and 2025 French Open finals, will meet the top-seeded Belarusian at Hard Rock Stadium at 3pm EDT on Saturday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Iran footballers pay tribute to victims of school strike at start of warlist 2 of 4Iran bans sports teams from travelling to ‘hostile’ countries amid warlist 3 of 4Asian Champions League quarterfinal sends Iran’s Tractor FC to Saudi Arabialist 4 of 4World Cup security concerns grow in US as funding stallsend of listThis WTA 1000 final will mark their 13th meeting, with the series knotted at 6-6. They faced off three times in finals in 2025. Sabalenka won the last meeting in the group stage of the WTA Finals in November.“We’ve played so many matches, and it’s physical when I play her every time,” Gauff said. “She’s playing great tennis. She’s definitely world No 1 for a reason and it’s going to be a great challenge.”Gauff is making her first Miami Open final appearance. The Delray Beach, Florida product had never made it past the fourth round in her hometown tournament.“She’s a fighter,’’ Sabalenka said. “She’s a great player. We played a lot of tight matches, a lot of big finals. She is an incredible player. I’m really excited to face her in the final. I think it’s going to be a great battle. I cannot wait to play that.”Sabalenka is attempting to win the “Sunshine Double” — the back-to-back March hard-court tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami.Sabalenka won in California on March 15 with a three-set victory over Elena Rybakina. Gauff had to retire during her third-round match against Alexandra Eala in Indian Wells because of a nerve injury in her left forearm. Gauff said her team wanted to skip the Miami Open, but she insisted.